Slave City / Atelier Van Lieshout

Jul 2009

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As if it was a mix in between Huxley | Orwell story, Atelier Van Lieshout from Rotterdam is developing this project since 2005. Just like in Brave New World, future society is an embodiment of the ideals that goes beyond ethics and liberty, and the artwork it’s obviously influenced in the scripts of fiction books from the early XX century, like mentioned Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s Men Like God or maybe some D. H. Lawrence novels.

Let’s hear what they have to tell us after the break

SlaveCity can be described as a sinister distopian project, which is very rational, efficient and profitable (7 billion euro net profit per year). Values, ethics, aesthetics, moral, food, energy, economics, organization, management and market are turned upside-down, mixed and reformulated and designed into a town of 200.000 inhabitants. The ‘inhabitants’ work for seven hours each day in office jobs and seven hours in the fields of inside the workshop, before being allowed three hours of relaxation before they sleep for seven hours. SlaveCity is the first ‘zero energy’ town; it is a green town where everything is recycled and a city that does not squander the world’s resources.

Energy Production

TOTAL ENERGY USAGE PER YEAR: 88.013.630 kWh/a
Electricity: 66.774.256 kWh/a
Thermal energy: 21.236.374 kWh/a

BIOGAS

Excrements
Excrements Fresh Substance per person and day: 0,40 kg
FS per year: 29.000 ton
Dry Substance (FS): 23 %
Organic Substance (DS): 85 %
Gas/kg (08): 520 l
Gas production per year: 2.968.472 m3

AGRICULTURAL WASTE

Agricultural waste Fresh Substance: 11.440 ton
Dry Substance (FS): 48 %
Organic Substance (DS): 83 %
Gas/kg (OS): 520 l
Gas production per year: 2.382.613 m3

WIND ENERGY

Wind turbines: 2.750 kW
Energy output per annum: 5,29 GWh/a
Wind turbines: 10 pieces
Electrical energy: 53.787.732 kWh/a

SOLAR ENERGY

Thermo photovoltaic device: 350 kWh/a
Needed M2: 23.214 m3

BIO DIESEL

Rape seed: 4,11 t/ha
Percentage diesel: 38 %
Percentage rape pie: 60 %
Bio diesel: 1,58 t/ha
Rape pie: 2,50 t/ha
Planned rape seed: 22 ha
Total production bio diesel: 34.310 l

The Mall, 2008

The Mall, situated in SlaveCity’s public area is a giant biomorphic baroque shopping centre. With 26 floors this humongous building is the worlds largest boundless consumer paradise, opened 24/7. The Mall houses countless shops that are irrationally chosen by Joep, consisting of numerous luxury good stores, with upstairs a recreational area including brothels, bars, night clubs, casinos, and a spa. Other floors house fashion stores, art galleries, design and furniture stores as well as convenience services. Downstairs you will find an arena for entertainment fights with supermarkets and quality organic food suppliers. Furthermore a health department with pharmacies and dental- and medical care as well as a hair- and beauty salon, a cosmetic surgery parlor.

The Mall: the shopping city, just to kill time.

Female Slave University, 2006

Female Slave University, a model of the elegant and efficiently designed education center within SlaveCity, a contemporary labour camp. It consists of 12 auditoriums piled up and surrounded by slopes. There are two Slave Universities, one for males and one for females. On top of the Female Slave University is a meeting room for the professors, who are the only ones receiving payment for their work, in this building. The other rooms are for the female slaves who are being educated to function good and efficient within the objectives of SlaveCity. The Female Slave University goes on 24/7, the slaves are functioning in 7 hour shifts (7 hours of study, 7 hours of work on the grounds or other supportive activities, 7 hours of rest and 3 hours of personal care such as eating, washing and relaxing). The Female Slave University offers room for 1896 female students and has 632 places to work, 632 sleeping-accommodations and 124 toilet units linked to a environmental friendly biogas installation.

5 Star Brothels for Males, 2005

The ‘participants’ of SlaveCity are not being paid for their work in the call centers. Instead of a payment they receive privileges such as a visit to a brothel. The brothels for the higher-class slaves are far more luxurious. In this triangle shapes brothel the slaves can choose between different kinds of pleasure.

Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL), founded by artist Joep van Lieshout (1963) in 1995, is a multidisciplinary art practice encompassing installation, design, furniture and architecture. The name Atelier Van Lieshout emphasises the fact that the works of art do not stem solely from the creative brain of Joep van Lieshout, but are produced by a creative team of artists, designers and architects.

I want to thank Manolo Fernández to catch my attention over this project.

Cite:
Baraona Pohl , Ethel . "Slave City / Atelier Van Lieshout" 26 Jul 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/30114>

Comments (25)
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Links to this entry (4)

Troy Lemieur says:

This is thoroughly entertaining.

# July 26, 2009 at 09:25

S Kawasaki says:

“Slave city”?
This project would have interested me greatly, but the name rather repels me.

# July 26, 2009 at 10:26

ricardo says:

its sounds like a koolhaas “voluntary prisoners”

# July 26, 2009 at 11:12

Luis says:

awfull project ….it´s totally insane…fuhrer fans…its a kind of torture machines…

# July 26, 2009 at 11:50

Fino says:

Archigram……on something not as strong as steroids. Haha

# July 26, 2009 at 11:52

Tommy Manuel says:

As art such as this goes, there’s obviously a commentary here on current trends in sustainability, utopia, the industrial prison complex, etc. Instead of grasping for exactly what Atelier Van Lieshout intended – perhaps only to raise questions – in this work, I think there’s more to it than Orwellian/Huxlian comparisons can offer. There’s a tendency to impose on these schemes a top-down structure imposed on a disempowered population. I think this is a far too naive telling of any of these scenarios. Without completely ignoring top-down social structuring, I believe a more subtle and vastly greater tragedy will be found in the bottom -up complicity in such distopian proposals. From an american perspective, it is blatantly obvious – if you’re paying attention – that much of our culture has become geared toward this kind of existence. We want it now, we want it easy, and we’re willing to pay whatever it takes to be subjugated, satiated, and cajoled while relinquishing our individual and collective power to those who can provide us with this kind of existence. Naturally, this is generalization – to an extent – that I hope reinforces my point. We didn’t get to be the fattest nation by failing to fight off being force fed our current lifestyle.

# July 26, 2009 at 12:05

Mr. Cheap says:

I dont 100% understand what you mean when you talk about top-down versus down-top ?? Do you mean that there is a general tendency that people strive for a top-down society ?

I think this claim is interesting, but where do you suggest that it comes from ? I live in a country where social welfare is extremly good, -and I think this society potentially can lead to increased passivity and reduced consciousness/awareness. Both my home country and SlaveCity shares a similar goal, and that is predictability and safety over time, and the tradeoff is trust/confidence. Change/alterations should occur within controlled environments, like complex law systems or integrated financial systems (realestate/architecture is in the US a -key- component in the economic system).

Modernist architecture is supposedly robust in terms of handling change, also as a cultural object (at least in theory), but it has a fundamental set of values for humans that is excluded in the SlaveCity project, but beyond this they are not that different, because they both focus on performance, or ? Where does the term “trust” belong in modernist ideals ? Does modernism at all care about this term ?

# July 26, 2009 at 17:42

@Manuel

What?

# July 26, 2009 at 12:35

Drunkmuse says:

Very interesting take on trends in society. I think like manuel mentioned…the role that the “masses” play in creating such distopia is largely ignored, but perhaps not. The complicity in creating these scenarios by participating and even demanding such lifestyles that you stated mean giving up innate liberties in our daily lives…like working 60 or 80 hour weeks so that our kids get the latest Nike shoes or the newest I-Pods; even though we get to see them 20 hours per week. I think the exhibition is a blatant way of showing society, in perhaps a streamlined or matter-of-fact way what we do to ourselves in order to get our daily “Fixes”.

# July 26, 2009 at 12:58

Jon says:

We’re wasting our time

# July 26, 2009 at 13:13

Balkan says:

Good comment Tommy.

# July 26, 2009 at 14:05

Lucas Gray says:

A little out there but I appreciate the concept. A little science fiction meets architecture can raise a truck load on interesting ideas and definitely stir up some controversy.

# July 26, 2009 at 14:08

arch critic says:

this is hot….garbage

# July 26, 2009 at 14:39

I think the comments here must come from the participants in the architecture sector that see themselves only as service providers, except for Tommy maybe.

The project is interesting as architecture, because it tries to discuss by doing, by making models and drawings of architecture. Tommy touches some theemes that are inline with what I see in this work, a society that more and more tries to measure performance, and that is geared towards growth.

This SlaveCity project is a project that realizes a required performative aspect of most modern architecture, without respect to culture. What one can discuss in this project is both what one does not like, or see as problematic, but also potentials and qualities.

What is most interesting to me is that the project asumes a total surveillance of all activity, and the freedom that is given is the creation of small spaces, and totally unorganized space. It also seems to allow for a massive density. How can this be discussed in terms of modern development in china ? They have massive surveillance, totally insane laws and also very high density.

Yes, this is art, but it is also a discussion on what culture and performance is within architecture. Most projects, like on this blog, take this totally for granted, or are at least not challenging theese aspects to this extreme form.

# July 26, 2009 at 17:16

Mr. Cheap, I think you understand my rambling :-) Basically, there’s another side to things and there’s some culpability that must go to those volunteering to be prisoners of their own want for convenience and predictability. China has been a relevant topic for a while now. The US’s Recovery Act may generate more conversations about this type of art/architecture in relation to urban planning, infrastructure, and social control. Sullka, I also appreciate and get your take on this, very apt as well.

# July 27, 2009 at 19:22

César Reyes Nájera says:

SLAVE CITY. APPLICATION FORM-01

No. of hours you worked today?

No. of hours dedicated to yourself?

No of hours dedicated to your community?

No of hours you slept?

GENDER: M: F:

NAME:

CREDIT CARD NUMBER:
(It’s secure…you won’t need it here anymore)

# July 26, 2009 at 20:17

sullka says:

Maybe it’s just me, but I noticed something different than what others have mentioned so far.

My take on it is rather simple, no need to be a philosopher.

I actually see it as tongue-in-cheek comment on how absurd this whole “green conciousness” is becoming.

Slave/concentration camp, brothels, megamalls, etc, and just paste a “green-environmental friendly” tag on it, and it will sell and be accepted.

As they said:
“Values, ethics, aesthetics, moral, food, energy, economics, organization, management and market are turned upside-down…”

Some of that are already upside down in real life, but instead of actually changing, we just covered them up with the “environmental friendly” veil.

My 2 cents anyways.

# July 27, 2009 at 15:10

Wargo says:

In fact the prototypes of a primary “slave-city” actually exists, just look around.

# July 27, 2009 at 17:10

romanaa says:

i like this submarine think!

# July 29, 2009 at 10:38

natural says:

Very classy looking ! Great idea, love it !

# August 25, 2009 at 14:12

Ethel Baraona Pohl says:

As a reference in another post, I'm revisiting the Slave City by Atelier Van Leishout | http://tinyurl.com/lx3ct4

# December 11, 2009 at 06:31

As a reference for other post, I'm revisiting the Slave City by Atelier Van Leishout | http://tinyurl.com/lx3ct4 #dystopias

# December 11, 2009 at 06:32

brian says:

it’s refreshing to see a posting that generates as much discussion regarding our societal position relative to architecture and vice versa, rather than yet another slickly rendered extravaganza that seems to currently pervade the market. nice work

# January 10, 2010 at 22:59